SANY Equipment Involved in Mombasa–Nairobi Railway Project

07 September,2016SANY Group

Share to:

Modern relations between China and African nations date back to the 1950s, and now, as China’s Belt and Road Initiative advances and African nations push infrastructure development, multinational construction machinery manufacturers like Sany are playing an even bigger role in the strengthening Sino–African economic ties.

Sany has been doing business in Africa for over a decade and has established an extensive network of local dealers and long-term cooperative relations through its overseas subsidiaries in the North, Central and Southern Africa regions. To date, Sany alone has exported over 12,000 units of construction machinery to the continent, exceeding US$1.5 billion in sales.

The company has been involved in a number of key infrastructure projects across the continent, maintaining a mutually beneficial overseas business model that prioritizes international capacity cooperation as put forward by the Chinese government’s Belt and Road national strategy.

In May, 2014, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Kenya and signed an important cooperation agreement with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The two nations agreed to work together on Kenya’s biggest infrastructure project since its 1963 independence — the Mombasa–Nairobi Railway Project, which would cost an estimated US$3.8 billion and potentially increase the country’s GDP by 1.5%.

“China is ready to share its technology and experience in railway construction, and actively cooperate with local entities in railway design and construction, along with machinery supply, project management, personnel training and financing” Li Keqiang remarked.

The 480-kilometer railway will connect Kenya’s Capital Nairobi to the largest port in East Africa, Port of Mombasa. Working closely with the project’s main contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), Sany has supplied the project with a total of 120 units of heavy machinery, including concrete pumping equipment, crawler cranes, truck cranes, excavators, and road rollers, valued at over US$15 million.

The construction of the railway has not been without its challenges, as construction teams were confronted with the site’s tough geological conditions involving extremely hard rock. Sany’s service engineers stayed close on-site and provided regular machine inspections and high-level technical solutions to ensure that machines operated efficiently and project timelines remained on track. This commitment on the part of Sany’s service team was recognized by the local parties.

A number of senior diplomats from both China and Africa have lauded the Mombasa–Nairobi Railway Project as a good example of mutually beneficial China–Africa cooperation. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi was particularly impressed by the ecological sensitivity maintained on the project, as what he called the “natural and harmonious image of the African grasslands” was preserved through the integration of 14 wildlife corridors into the railway design.

“Sany will do its best to ensure smooth completion of the project,” Sany North Africa General Manager Li Lei noted, as the construction and service teams continue with work on the bilateral project expected to be completed by 2017.

About Sany

Sany is a leading global heavy machinery manufacturer with plants in the US, Germany, Brazil and India, and business covering over 100 countries and regions worldwide. The company has been recognized as one of the most innovative and successful companies in the world, and its concrete machinery is ranked No. 1 globally.

For more information, please visit: www.sanyglobal.com, or follow Sany Group on Facebook and YouTube.